BY ELIZABETH MCMAHON ’13
Senior Staff Writer

Each year at the end of the football season, the football association puts on a banquet in honor of the players. This gives the parents a chance to thank everyone and the seniors a chance to acknowledge everyone who has been there for them these past four years.

The banquet began with casual conversation amongst everyone. People wandered around and chatted and eventually found their seats. When everyone was seated dinner was served. It was buffet-style with salad, a main meal, and dessert. After dinner the presentation began.

The opening remarks were given by Ann Marsh. She started by remembering back to her first football banquet and remembered that her goal was to make the whole team and parents more included. She wanted to turn this group of people into a family where everyone felt welcome. She thanked all the committee chairs who have helped her achieve this goal. She also said how much she appreciated the opportunity to see not just her own son, but all the players, grow in their years at F&M.

After these opening remarks she thanked the staff. She thanked Matt Keller, athletic trainer, and his staff including Molly Reynolds ’13 who was present at the event. She also thanked Robin Wert, coordinator of Athletic Equipment Operations, and her staff including Kiana Spady ’15. After this she thanked all the coaches. Each of these people received either flowers or a card in her gratitude for their help this season.

She then introduced John Troxell, head coach of the football team, who continued the awards. He began by thanking Marsh for all her hard work and she received many gifts for this, including flowers and a gift certificate for a spa day. He then thanked several other people who have truly helped make this season wonderful.

After all these opening remarks and thanks it was time to present the awards. Troxell began by announcing the conference and various other non-F&M awards received by the players throughout the season. He also demonstrated how great this team was by pointing out two statistics. This was the first year F&M beat Johns Hopkins. Also, in 125 years of football the team has only made it to post season nine times, and three of those times were with these seniors.

Next it was time for the F&M awards. It was mostly the coaches who handed out these awards, but there were also a couple of alumni present who helped with this. Each award was introduced by a description of the player receiving the award and why they deserved to receive it. The following awards were given to the following players: C.T. Marsh ’13 picked up Lineman of the Year, Kenny Provost ’13 received the Tom Caterbone Award, Kenny Schultz ’13 was awarded the Tom Gilburg Award, T.J. Tynan ’13 got the Special Teams Player of the Year, Mike Shin ’13 received the Hammer Award, Sammy Massaro ’13 got the Al Brooks Award, E.J. Schneider ’14 was awarded the Offensive Player of the Year Award, and Devin Hunter ’13 picked up the Most Improved Player.
Following these awards, Troxell presented each of the seniors with a plaque, their game jersey, and a photo. The players were previously given their travel bags. There was a standing ovation at the end of this in honor of the seniors.

The team captains, Massaro, Marsh, and Provost, then had a few things to say. Provost listed all the people they were thankful for. They thanked the trainers and equipment room again and all the parents and coaches. But they also thanked their teammates. They said how this team was a great team and they were sad to be leaving it behind.

The evening ended with a highlight film. The film highlighted some of the best moments of the season, and it included images honoring each position. The film also included a special tribute to the seniors, footage taken at the last game where the seniors were recognized. The film ended with a good-bye image of all the seniors.

Questions? Email Elizabeth at emcmahon@fandm.edu.

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By TCR